The Gauteng Department of Health has raised alarm over the growing link between substance abuse and severe mental illness, warning that healthcare facilities are seeing an increasing number of young people diagnosed with substance-induced psychosis.
The warning comes as South Africa marks SANCA Drug Awareness Week, with health authorities and medical experts calling for greater awareness, early intervention and an end to the stigma surrounding addiction.
Healthcare professionals have observed that a significant proportion of patients presenting with psychosis also struggle with substance abuse, with substance-induced psychotic disorders increasingly being diagnosed in public healthcare facilities.
“Healthcare professionals continue to observe that a significant proportion of patients presenting with psychosis also struggle with substance abuse.”
The department said substance-induced psychosis occurs when alcohol or drugs disrupt normal brain function, causing people to lose touch with reality. Symptoms may include hallucinations, delusions, confused thinking, social withdrawal and sudden behavioural changes.
